ENG vs IND: Why India Didn't Send Rishabh Pant to Bat on Day 4 of the Lord's Test? Reason EXPLAINED

India's chase of 193 runs faltered on Day 4 of the Lord's Test against England. The decision to send Akash Deep as night watchman backfired, leaving India at 58/4 at stumps and facing a challenging final day.

Team India’s fate in the Lord’s Test hangs in the balance after a batting collapse on Day 4 of the third match in the ongoing series against England in London on Sunday, July 13.

Despite chasing a modest 193-run target, the visitors succumbed to early pressure as they lost four wickets at the close of Day 4. India bundled out England for 192 and were set a target of below 200, which looked achievable on a relatively challenging pitch at Lord’s, but the top order failed to capitalize on the momentum laid by Indian bowlers, who earlier dominated England’s second innings batting with their fiery and disciplined bowling by Washington Sundar.

Indian batters faced relentless pressure from England bowlers, especially Brydon Carse and Ben Stokes, as the visitors posted a total of 58/4 in 17.4 overs, with KL Rahul batting on 33 off 47 balls, and needed 135 runs to win heading into the final day of the Lord’s Test.

Sending Akash Deep ahead of Rishabh Pant backfired

Chasing a 193-run target, Team India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal early for a duck, dismissed by Jofra Archer. Then, Brydon Carse further rattled India’s batting line-up by dismissing Karun Nair (14) and Shubman Gill (6). Given the situation, it was expected that Rishabh Pant would walk out to bat despite the final session coming to an end.

Surprisingly, Team India decided to send Akash Deep as a night watchman to absorb the last few overs before the stumps. However, the decision completely backfired as Akash Deep was bowled out by Ben Stokes at the stroke of stumps, handing England a massive psychological edge going into Day 5.

The night watchman is often sent to bat to shield their key batters from testing conditions, be it fading light, a swinging ball, or high-pressure situations late in the day. In this case, the move by Team India management did not yield the desired result, as Akash Deep’s wicket dented their confidence in the dressing room.

Akash Deep was looking to block the ball as much as possible and give enough support to KL Rahul before the close of play, but a sharp inswinger from Ben Stokes breached his defence.

Why was Rishabh Pant not sent to bat amid the collapse?

Following the wicket of Akash Deep, several questions have been raised about Team India management’s decision to hold Rishabh Pant during a critical phase of the run chase. However, former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin explained the reason behind Pant’s delayed entry during his analysis on Day 4.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, ‘Ash ki Baat’, after Day 4 of the Lord’s Test, Ashwin stated that he does not want to bat in the last 30-40 minutes of the Day’s play, while backing India’s decision to send Akash Deep as a night watchman

“Rishabh does not like batting in the last 30-40 minutes of the day. That’s why they sent Akash Deep. But see, it is about protecting your best batter, yes. But when you send a batter like Akash Deep and then he gets out, it puts you in even more of a situation,” the 38-year-old said.

“When we were playing against New Zealand, the same thing happened. When Virat Kohli got out, Rishabh was not in the mood to go out. Then we had to send Siraj. And when he got out, again a proper batter had to go out," he added.

Rishabh Pant was battling through pain in the first innings of the Lord’s Test after sustaining an injury on the index finger while keeping the wickets during England’s second innings batting, and Dhruv Jurel stepped in to do wicketkeeping duties.

However, Pant walked in to bat at No. and played a valiant innings of 74 off 112 balls and formed a crucial 141-run stand for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul (100 off 177 balls).

Team India staring at defeat in the Lord’s Test

Meanwhile, India are staring at a defeat in the third Test of the ongoing five-match series against England at Lord’s Test. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant walked in to bat to resume the visitors’ 193-run chase at 58/4.

However, Team India suffered an early setback with the dismissal of in-form Rishabh Pant by Jofra Archer for seven at 71/5. Then, KL Rahul, who was looking resolute and in a decent rhythm, was removed by Ben Stokes for 39 at 81/6. Thereafter, Washington Sundar joined Ravindra Jadeja at the crease. However, Sundar’s stay at the crease did not last long as he was dismissed for 0 at 82/7.

After Sundar’s dismissal, Ravindra Jadeja joined Nitish Kumar Reddy at the crease. The pair steadied India’s ship and took the visitors past the 100-run mark before Nitish was dismissed by Chris Woakes at 112/8 at the stroke of Lunch.

At the end of the first session, India posted a total of 112/8 in 39.3 overs, with Ravindra Jadeja batting on 17 and needing 81 runs to win.